This page covers 5 granted patents from Hangzhou Electronic Soul Network Technology, Magnopus, Microsoft, Qualcomm, and Tencent, with 1 patent per company.
The patents address infrastructure challenges in multiplayer gaming, from server management to input synchronization. Hangzhou Electronic Soul Network Technology and Magnopus describe server systems that dynamically scale multiplayer environments, with Hangzhou's approach automatically merging and splitting game servers based on player population and Magnopus enabling platform-agnostic MMO infrastructure across AR, VR, and desktop. Microsoft's patent allows local split-screen functionality in online-only games by running multiple instances on a single console, while Qualcomm timestamps controller inputs against console beacon signals for precise wireless coordination and Tencent splits game logic processing between server and client based on entity visibility to support ultra-large player counts.
Hangzhou Electronic Soul Network Technology received 1 patent describing a system that manages the lifecycle of multiplayer game servers by tracking player populations in real time. When certain game scenes become underpopulated, the system automatically merges them with other active scenes to consolidate resources. If a merged scene later exceeds its capacity threshold as more players join, the system splits it back into separate instances, maintaining optimal player density without manual intervention.
Microsoft received 1 patent that brings local split-screen play to games designed only for online multiplayer. The system runs multiple instances of the same game simultaneously, with each instance controlled by a different player using separate inputs. A compositing layer combines the visual output from these instances onto a single display while routing each player's controller inputs to their corresponding game instance, recreating the couch co-op experience without requiring developers to code native split-screen features.
Magnopus received 1 patent for an MMO infrastructure that connects players across augmented reality, virtual reality, and desktop platforms without traditional server sharding. The system uses absolute-value messaging instead of delta-based updates, allowing it to recover from packet loss without corrupting game state. Servers automatically scale based on user load and maintain seamless communication across geographic regions, eliminating the need for players to reload when moving through large virtual distances.
Qualcomm received 1 patent for a wireless controller synchronization method that references input timing against beacon signals broadcast by the gaming console. Each controller timestamps its button presses and joystick movements relative to these shared time beacons rather than relying on when packets arrive over the network. This approach allows the console to reconstruct the precise sequence of inputs from multiple controllers even when WiFi transmission delays differ between devices.
Tencent received 1 patent that divides game logic processing based on what each player can see at any given moment. The system keeps calculations for visible entities on the client side while moving logic for non-visible game elements to the server. This visibility-based distribution of computational work shifts dynamically as players move through the game world, creating a hybrid between traditional peer-to-peer frame synchronization and fully server-authoritative architectures to support larger player counts with improved network efficiency.
All data sourced from USPTO patent filings. Google Patents may take several weeks to index recent publications. If a link is unavailable, search for the patent number at USPTO Patent Public Search.